


Strangeness and Charm

by molmcmahon



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Master of Death Harry Potter, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Top Harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-07
Updated: 2017-03-07
Packaged: 2018-09-30 07:57:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10158080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/molmcmahon/pseuds/molmcmahon
Summary: At one point during his training, the Ancient One had told him not to piss off the Master of Death. Stephen would have totally heeded the warning, had she told him who the Master of Death actually was.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own either Harry Potter or Doctor Strange.

 

After the shit storm that was the Accords and the Avengers splitting in half, Harry chose to stay at the Avengers tower. Mostly to keep an eye on Tony and make sure he was okay than out of any real need to be an Avenger now. And he was on call for Rhodey too, seeing as he was working on healing the man’s legs. Besides, he had traveled through the veil to this world out of a need to get away from his own. He wasn’t about to desert his friends here.

A yelp brought him out of his thoughts as he glanced through the floor to ceiling windows of the tower. Tony definitely wasn’t going to say anything but Harry did think the other man was glad that Harry had stayed by his side. He wasn’t Loki though and neither of them knew where Thor’s brother was.

“Sir requests your presence,” Jarvis spoke, his voice coming through the speakers in the ceiling.

“Is it T’Challa again or Peter? Though, come to think of it, Peter’s the one who sometimes arrives by rooftop.”

“It’s someone else,” Jarvis said.

Harry nodded, uncrossing his legs and stretching. “Urgent?”

“If you think someone appearing out of nowhere is urgent.”

Harry snorted and stood up, glancing out at the nighttime happenings in New York. The city looked beautiful from all the way up here, watching everyone go about their nightly bar hopping and parties. Or just walking home from work. Though people just looked like ants to him from up here. “This about what happened in Hong Kong?”

“I can’t say.”

Harry grinned slightly then walked over to the elevator, stepping in and waiting for Jarvis to take him where he was needed.

 

* * *

 

Tony breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted Harry step out of the elevator. Harry was just in jeans and a dark green t-shirt, nothing that outright screamed wizard. Hell, if Tony was just meeting the two men in front of him, he wouldn’t have thought Harry was a wizard at all. The only minor thing that indicated otherwise was the wand tucked into one of Harry’s pockets and it was always a different pocket.

He watched Doctor Stephen Strange out of the corner of his eyes, studying the man for any reaction. Loki had a definite reaction when he had met Harry, noting that the British man was like a void. Visible in the physical sense but not in the magical sense. “Harry, fancy seeing you here. We have a guest.”

Harry snorted and walked over to stand next to Tony, looking their newest ‘guest’ over. “I suppose you’re to thank for Hong Kong? Whatever the hell that was?”

Stephen stared at Harry, studying him intently. “Avenger, I take it?”

“Something like that,” Harry offered. “Harry James Potter, at your service. Or not. I’m picky about who I choose to befriend.”

Tony snorted and Harry rolled his eyes. “Weren’t you one of the ones that Tony asked about Rhodey?”

“So he was the one with the spinal injury?” Stephen questioned, looking back at Tony like he was dismissing him.

“Yeah. I heard you were a little busy at the time, what with driving off the cliff and all,” Tony remarked.

“Shit happens sometimes,” Stephen replied steadily.

“Why’d you need me anyway?” Harry questioned, looking between them with fond exasperation in his green eyes. Tony watched Harry rock back on the heels of his feet and that alone clued Tony in to the fact that Harry knew more than he was letting on about Stephen Strange. Most of the time Harry would be still, almost deathly still when he met new people, and now… Tony wondered why Harry was pretending he knew nothing about Hong Kong. Something in Harry’s voice told Tony that he knew about what happened. At the time of the chaos in Hong Kong, Harry had been gone, unreachable through comms. “I was busy.”

“He just popped out of nowhere!” Tony exclaimed, gesturing at Strange, who looked unruffled by Tony’s words. “Besides, Jarvis told me you weren’t busy.”

“I was planning on what to cook for dinner tonight. It is my night after all,” Harry said, turning to look at Stephen. “So… you pop out of thin air, huh?”

“Something like that,” Stephen answered, his lips twitching up into a small smirk.

Harry rolled his eyes again. “Oh Merlin, another one?”

“Arrogant billionaires are very common around these parts,” Stephen commented, scowling a little.

“Ex billionaire, or so I’ve heard,” Tony said apologetically.

“Billionaire or sorcerer supreme? Hmm, it’s difficult to know which is better,” Stephen said, moving his hands like he was weighing the words. Tony watched as Stephen’s hands trembled, remembered the news articles about how badly the car accident had injured the other man.

“What’d you do with the bad guy? Whoever he was? Kill?” Harry asked curiously. “Or just maim?”

Stephen looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “Do you kill your opponents?”

“Sometimes,” Harry offered. “There was one man… Anyway, that was a long, long time ago.”

“Long, long time ago? You look at least 20. It couldn’t have been that long ago.”

Harry glared at Stephen and crossed his arms. “I just look 20, for your information. Tony, I’m going grocery shopping and ingredient hunting. I’ll probably be back around 5:30 if you need me.”

Tony watched as Harry took a few steps back, having taken a few steps towards their newest sorcerer, then disappeared soundlessly. No magical portal needed.

Stephen’s eyes widened and Tony watched as the man almost spluttered.

“How… He didn’t even have a sling ring,” Stephen muttered, tilting his head in confusion.

“Hmm?”

“Nothing. What… Who is that man?”

Tony grinned, knowing that Stephen was intrigued now. “He just appeared out of nowhere one day, before the accords, when the Avengers were just getting started. I only know that he is a wizard, or at least, he calls himself a wizard.”

Stephen dipped his head in a nod, apparently deep enough in thought that he was ignoring Tony.

“Nudged me in the right direction when we were fighting Loki,” Tony added. “Told me to look more closely at the man. Sooo… about joining the-”

“No.”

“Ahhh, are you sure?”

“No.”

“No, you’re sure or no, you’re not sure?” Tony asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No to joining the Avengers, Stark.”

“Ahhh man, I thought we were getting along too,” Tony muttered, looking more closely at Stephen and seeing the bags underneath his eyes. “Seriously though, you could do with more friends. Take some of the burden off.”

“I’m fine,” Stephen retorted, his green eyes flashing with irritation.

“Right… of course you are.”

“I’m fine, Stark. I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be operating in your city.”

“Sounds like it’s our city now,” Tony said, grinning slightly. “If you ever need help, let us know.”

Stephen stared at him then shook his head, frowning at him. “Unlikely. The things I face are things that you have only ever heard of.”

Tony watched as Stephen turned and started to do the hand motions of some… spell. A portal appeared not too long afterward and Stephen stepped through it, the cloak fluttering after him.

“Would it kill you to say thanks?!”

 

* * *

  
  


The second time Stephen Strange ‘popped in’ to the Avengers tower, Harry was alone, meditating in the room that Tony had set for him. Harry peered up at Stephen, having felt the portal pop into existence a few seconds before it appeared. He raised an eyebrow at the other man then closed his eyes again, extending his magic out and then back in, like waves of power.

“If you’re here for Tony, he’s out at the Avengers facility,” Harry remarked as he heard Stephen walk deeper into the room. The other man was wearing soft boots, ones that probably were pretty comfortable. The ever present cloak that wrapped around Stephen was in its usual spot, the innate magic that it emanated curling around Stephen.

“I… actually came here to see you,” Stephen remarked, as he walked around the room, looking at the various shelves of books and magical artifacts that he didn’t recognize. Or at least he presumed they were magical artifacts. Harry was in the center of the room, sitting on the floor that was made up of comfortable mats. One side of the room was looking out over the city, with the same floor to ceiling windows that Stephen had seen throughout the other parts of the tower. “Yoga mats?”

Harry snorted, still not moving from his seat. “Nooo… Meditation mats. Though I do bendy stuff on occasion. I had expected to be left alone. No billionaires to interrupt me.”

“I’m an ex billionaire. I don’t count.”

“Ha. Still… either keep quiet or get out, go back to wherever you keep your lair.”

Stephen’s lips twitched up into a small grin. “It’s not a lair.”

“Right. What do you call it then?”

“Sanctum.”

“Of course. It sounds adequately mysterious.”

Stephen walked around to stand in front of Harry then sat down, crossing his legs. “Where did you learn your magic? Kamar Taj?”

“That where you learned yours?”

“Yes.”

Stephen watched as Harry opened his eyes, watching as the slight glow in the other man’s eyes disappeared. Harry frowned but sighed.

“You’re annoying, you know that?”

“Where did you learn your magic?”

“Who’s to say I learned it here?” Harry finally replied, studying Strange. It almost felt like Harry could see through him, like the Ancient One had. “And how do you know my… power is magic? It might not be.”

Stephen narrowed his eyes and glared at him.

“Did you learn at the London sanctum?”

“Nope.”

“Then where did you learn it? I asked Wong-”

“Who’s Wong?” Harry interrupted, raising an eyebrow at him.

“The librarian,” Stephen answered. “He only has one name. Don’t ask.”

Harry huffed out a quiet laugh, his green eyes lighting up with amusement.

“Wong didn’t know who you were and had never heard of you,” Stephen finished, enjoying the sound of Harry’s laugh. “Who are you really?”

“Not a threat to you, Doctor Strange,” Harry remarked softly, his glow in his eyes blinking then disappearing. “I’ll keep you posted on any threats I encounter though.”

“What can you do?”

“Pull a rabbit out of a hat,” Harry answered nonchalantly. 

Stephen stared at him and scowled.

“No, really. That’s about all I can do,” Harry said, staring at him and smiling slightly.

“You’re joking, right?”

“I can talk with the long dead?”

Stephen glared at him then stood up. “What can you really do?”

Harry peered up at him, raised an eyebrow. “Pop in and out of places. Card tricks… the usual.”

Stephen sighed and formed a portal next to him, the cloak wrapping around him a little tighter.  “Nice talking with you.”

“Nice talking with you too.”

 

* * *

  
  


Stephen paced around his apartment a week later, thoughts still on Harry James Potter. He could see the Avengers Tower from here and wondered what the other sorcerer was doing. The man hadn’t been in any of the papers over the last few years though it wasn’t like Stephen would have noticed. He had spent most of his time at the hospital or going to awards ceremonies. And it didn’t help that Stephen could not sense any magic or power around the man, which made him all the more curious.

“Any news on Karl?”

The question drew Stephen out of his thoughts and back to where Wong was standing. The other wizard was looking at him with a blank face and maybe a little worry. 

“Found another one who was drained of her magic,” Stephen replied, sighing. He just barely held back a yawn. If he didn’t, Wong would tell him to get some sleep and that was the last thing he needed. Karl was on the move and Stephen had to be ready. “I thought Karl would… He was my friend.”

“He thinks that his path is the right one. He-”

A quiet crack proceeded Harry Potter’s arrival in Stephen’s apartment. The man appeared by the windows, his eyes immediately tracking to Stephen.

Wong startled, backing up and raising his arms to conjure a weapon.

“Two can play at this game,” Harry offered, smiling with a mischievous look in his green eyes. “What’s up?”

Stephen stared at Harry and blinked. “Locked doors mean nothing to you.”

“Just like they mean nothing to you, Doctor Stephen Strange,” Harry said. “Anything amiss?”

“No,” Stephen spoke.

“Who are you?” Wong questioned, with a bewildered look. “Stephen?”

“He is the man I asked you about,” Stephen answered without even taking his eyes from Harry. Harry returned the look, gazing at him with something in his eyes. Stephen couldn’t really tell what it was and didn’t really want to know. It might have been worry or it might have been amusement. 

“You told me the man was a wizard,” Wong said. “He doesn’t look like someone who has magic.”

“And you would be the expert on that?” Harry asked. “Wizards don’t look like anything in particular. Though where I’m from, most wizards and witches wore robes and pointy hats. It was a thing.”

“Where are you from?” Stephen questioned. “You still haven’t told me.”

“England.”

“Yes, I know that,” Stephen retorted, taking a step towards Harry in exasperation. 

“Fine. I learned how to do this whole magic thing at a place called Hogwarts,” Harry offered. “Granted, I was born with it so…”

“You were born with magic?” Wong asked, sounding intrigued and just a little disbelieving.

“Yep.”

“Hogwarts?” Stephen repeated dryly. “Sounds like a gimmick, something to attract tourists.”

Harry stared at him then burst out laughing. He didn’t stop until a minute or two afterwards, his cheeks red with the effort of holding his amusement in.

“So does Kamar Taj.”

Harry grinned at him then disappeared soundlessly, once again with no portal needed.

“Where did you really…”

Stephen scowled. “I hate it when he does that.”

The cloak whapped him on the shoulder.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“Stephen, you need to investigate him further,” Wong remarked after a few minutes of companionable silence. “He might be a threat that we don’t know about.”

“A threat? He seems harmless.”

“Still… I don’t trust him.”

“The man lives in the Avengers Tower where Stark’s AI is.”

“You got in there once before.”

  
  


* * *

 

Stephen waited until he knew Stark’s group of Avengers were out fighting before conjuring a portal to the tower. He stepped through the portal and instantly spelled himself into the mirror realm then into Harry’s room, the one that he had visited before the other man had visited Stephen’s apartment. He looked around the room, noting the various shelves of books, both old and new. There was a whole other door that Stephen hadn’t seen on his earlier visit, one that certainly didn’t lead out to the hallway. The cloak tugged him away from the door, yanking him away. 

“Stop. I want to know what’s in there.”

The cloak continued to tug, tightening its hold on him as he attempted to go towards the door. Stephen sighed and stopped. The cloak seemed to deflate, settling loosely around him again. There were certain smells coming from what was beyond the door, smells of smoke and some… herbs that he could just vaguely recognize wafting in through the cracks at the bottom of the door.

“This man could be a threat, you know. Despite...”

Stephen walked over to the floor to ceiling windows at the edge of the room. Each time that he heard Harry speak, he could have sworn that he had heard the guy before. Even the time that they had met, Harry’s voice had seemed familiar. And Stephen probably would have remembered someone like Harry. 

He stared out at the New York horizon, knowing that Stark’s Avengers were fighting something in Pennsylvania and that he was in the clear for at least an hour. It was a chilly night in the city, with most people bundled up for the winter. It had snowed heavily the day before and caused a few minor traffic jams. Stephen turned around and scanned the room, seeing nothing that jumped out at him except…

He padded over the mats over the corner beside the door, tilting his head in confusion. There was something that he could see out of the corner of his eyes but not if he looked at it straight on. Stephen narrowed his eyes, idly pondering what to do. He might have encountered a spell to hide something from anyone else. Maybe it was hiding something important. 

Stephen looked up at the ceiling then back to the corner, where the mystery spell was. He blinked, mind made up, and stepped out of the mirror realm, casting a spell to reveal whatever was hidden.

He expected Stark’s AI to immediately raise an alarm but he didn’t hear anything. He peered down at what was in the corner, looking closer at the wide metal basin before him. It appeared to be floating in the corner, with runes etched into the stone. There was mist floating over it, making it seem like there was a kind of liquid in the basin. Stephen took a few steps to stop right in front of it, looking into it and then something tugged him down. Foreign power pulled him down and seemingly into the basin.

He yelped as he fell and thumped down onto wet dirt. The cloak tightened around him, not enough to be suffocating but enough to tell him that he wasn’t alone. Wherever he had landed, it was still night but it seemed so much darker and so much more eerie. He blinked and opened his eyes, looking around the cemetery he had landed in. The only natural light was the moon shining down on him and the stars glowing in the sky.

It looked like an old cemetery as he got up and hesitantly walked through the headstones, glancing down at the names. A scream drew his attention as he peered over ahead of him to what looked like someone huddling over someone else. Stephen narrowed his eyes and sped up, pacing between the headstones to stop before the man. The man who looked an awful lot like Harry Potter but very much younger, perhaps 14 years old, longer, wilder black hair and wide green eyes. And the mysterious lightning bolt scar on his forehead. Unlike when Stephen had just recently seen him, now it looked like it was glowing red. 

Or… as Stephen took just a small step forward, he realized that it looked more like it was burning.

“Harry?”

The young man was looking ahead of him, appearing to not even notice that Stephen was there. Harry was kneeling over a body of another young man, this one with light brown hair and scared blue eyes.

“Harry?”

“Hurry, Wormtail…”

Stephen followed Harry’s gaze to where there was another man, this one middle aged and raggedy looking. The man was tending to a pot, with a fire pit underneath. The water in the pot was sizzling, steam rising from it into the cold night are.  

“Cedric, we have to go,” Harry muttered shakily, raising a hand to touch his scar. “The cup was a portkey!”

“Harry, what?”

“I’ve been here before,” Harry whispered, standing up and glaring at the man opposite them. “Cedric, get the cup!”

The man across from them raised what looked like a thin, stick of wood. Stephen almost thought it might be a wand. He had seen Harry twirl one like it in his hands a few days ago. But this Harry… Maybe this was a memory.  

The young man called Cedric stood up, wand raised, and went to stand in front of Harry.

“Kill the spare!”

“Avada Kedrava!”

“Cedric! NOO!”

Stephen watched, his heart racing, as green sickly light flew from Wormtail’s( _ and what the hell kind of a name was Wormtail?) _ wand and sped right at Cedric. Harry’s eyes widened, fear in his eyes and body language, as the light- the spell- hit Cedric. The young man fell where he was standing, eyes sightless before he hit the ground.

“Stephen?”

He turned around to see the older Harry standing before him, eyes narrowed. 

“Harry?”

The other man peered behind him, stiffening. “Snooping around?”

“What is this? A memory?”

Harry stared at him, his body language all but closed off. His shoulders were tight and hunched inward, as if the man was trying to become smaller by will alone. 

“Let’s get out of here first,” Harry remarked quietly, taking a step closer and reaching a hand out, palm up.

A scream drew his attention and he was about to turn back around, see what else was happening to a younger Harry when the current man shuddered. Harry shook his head when Stephen raised an eyebrow. “You don’t want to see what happened next, trust me.”

Stephen stared at him then reached out to place his hand within Harry’s. He felt a tug on his body then Harry tugged him up and out of the basin. Harry didn’t even wait for him to gather his bearings before yelling at him.

“First, that was private! Private! There was a reason I had that warded, Doctor Strange!”

“Warded?” Stephen repeated, feeling his breathing slow down enough.

“Second, what the hell were you doing? I just get finished fighting off a sludge monster that HYDRA had cooked up when I got a warning from Jarvis! I don’t appreciate people snooping around in my private things! You could have been killed!”

“Killed? In there? I don’t even know what that is,” Stephen said, crossing his arms.

“I have a lot of things here that could kill someone if misused! For Merlin’s sake, if you weren’t someone I had met before, I probably would have cast a spell first and asked questions later!”

“Merlin?” Stephen repeated, his lips twitching up into a small grin at Harry’s frustrated expression.

“Yeah, the guy was real,” Harry retorted, glaring at him. “At least in my world, he was! Now get out!”

Stephen studied Harry, seeing the real anger in his eyes. And power. Real power, not just a small amount of power for pulling a rabbit out of a hat like Harry had suggested. Shadows pooled around the man and Stephen could see a faint outline of what looked like wings. 

“Alright, I’m leaving.”

“You’re just as bad as Loki. Popping in and out of places that you have no right to be. Should probably put up wards around this room. Actually… I don’t really blame you.”

“Hmm?”

“I did the same when I was young,” Harry offered, smirking slightly. 

Stephen nodded, not really understanding what or who Harry was. The man had said that he ‘just looked 20’. But how old was the guy actually? Perhaps there was something about him in one of the books in Kamar Taj? Though he figured he would have remembered reading about someone like him. He spelled a portal into place and then stepped through it into the London sanctum.

Was Harry like the Ancient One, drawing power off of the dark dimension?

 

* * *

  
  


Harry stood in front of the New York sanctum, or at least what had become Stephen Strange’s lair. He laughed under his breath, imagining what Stephen would think of him calling it a lair. A few people walking by stared at him like they thought he was crazy and he waved at them cheerfully.

It was a few weeks since he had caught the other wizard snooping in his pensieve. In his arms were leftovers from the dinner he had cooked for the Avengers that were still in New York City. It was late, around 9:00pm, as their group had had to fight off a crew of Frost Giants that had wanted to kill Thor. It was rare for there to be leftovers, especially since Bruce had come back a few nights ago. But he had enough for one more person and he had seen the change in Stephen. The man wasn’t eating as much as he should be, maybe too busy watching his back alone. 

And he had noticed the bags underneath the man’s green eyes. Harry sighed and knocked once at the door. Nothing. He took a step backward and peered up into the second floor windows, trying to see if Stephen was here. He had sensed the man’s magic here thirty minutes ago. Had Stephen portaled away elsewhere? Or stepped through a door and appeared in India? Or wherever the doors took him to.

Harry was about to turn away when he saw some fluttering fabric hit the window right over the front door. He narrowed his eyes as Stephen’s cloak hit the window again, almost like it was trying to tell him something. Harry took a deep breath then apparated into the room where the cloak was, a spell on the tip of his tongue in case Stephen was being attacked.

The cloak stilled and floated over to him, nudging him through the door opposite the window. Harry snorted but allowed the cloak to guide him to wherever Stephen was.

“You know, my cloak doesn’t do this,” Harry remarked teasingly as he looked around the sanctum. It was full of magical artifacts, some ancient looking while others seemed to be relatively new.

The cloak continued to push him through the hallways, ending up before a room that was at the end of the third floor. Harry stopped before the door then quietly pushed it open, his heart stopping at the sight that met him. Stephen was in bed, tossing and turning, whimpering in his sleep. As Harry walked closer, avoiding the multiple books spread around the floor,  he could even hear the other man mutter something about bargaining in his sleep and he winced.

“Oh Stephen.”

Harry sighed and placed the food in his arms on the little table by the door. He walked over to the bed, watching as the cloak hovered over the distressed sorcerer supreme. 

“You sure I’m okay to be in here?” Harry asked belatedly, looking at the cloak like it would talk back to him. 

The cloak whapped him on the shoulder then gestured with a corner to Stephen. Harry rolled his eyes then sat carefully on the edge of the bed, placing a cautious hand on Stephen’s arm. He didn’t particularly want the man to wake up fighting because he thought Harry was Dormammu. “Stephen? It’s okay. Wake up. You’re safe.”

Stephen awoke with a gasp, his green eyes wide with remembered pain. Sweat dripped down his bare chest as he sat bolt upright, dropping his weight on his hands. His damaged hands. Stephen inhaled sharply and picked up his hands, watched them shake with pain. 

“Fuck.”

Harry blinked, hearing the undercurrent of pain in the man’s voice, then reached into his kit that he always kept with him, pulling out a small container and opened it. He dropped the limitless bag at the bottom of the bed, leaving it open in case he needed anything else. “Gimme.”

Stephen continued to stare at his hands and Harry reached out to tip his chin up. A spark of power jumped between Harry’s fingers as Stephen felt warmth invade his body, heat coiling like a snake in his bones. “What.”

“Seems all billionaires are stubborn these days,” Harry muttered. “Your hands. I have something to ease the pain.”

“I’ve tried everything. Nothing you have will work,” Stephen retorted. 

“Ha, that’s what you think,” Harry offered quietly, making a beckoning gesture with his hand. “Besides, I’m from another world.”

Stephen narrowed his eyes. “Another world?”

“Give me your hands and then I’ll tell you.”

Stephen stared at him then hesitantly placed his hands in Harry’s. “Tell me everything.”

Harry raised an eyebrow but shrugged, a little hint of a smile on his face. “I come from another Earth that’s pretty much the same as this one except for the Avengers, X Men and whatever other heroes this one has. Those people don’t exist on my Earth.”

Stephen watched as Harry opened the small container, letting a subtle scent of lavender into the open air. He peered into the container, looking over the balm. “That’s it? A herbal concoction?”

“It’s got magic in there too,” Harry spoke, glaring at him and swiping some of the paste in one hand. “Besides, herbal concoctions aren’t that bad. Not when I can create so many things with them. That’s actually what’s in that room you tried to go into a few weeks ago.”

“Supply room?”

“No. It’s where I make potions,” Harry explained, starting to rub some paste into Stephen’s left hand. It was cool to the touch but gradually began to warm up, his hand relaxing into Harry’s and slowly beginning to still. Wherever Harry’s hand touched, cool tingles spread throughout his fingers and palm. 

Stephen sighed and leaned into Harry, finally just dropping his head onto the other man’s shoulder. 

“I was born in 1980, in July,” Harry whispered. “On that other Earth. One and a half years later, my parents were murdered.” 

“You’re saying there are other Earths,” Stephen muttered, his words already half slurred due to sleep. He felt an arm wrap around him, rubbing his back in slow circles. “How do you travel? I thought…”

“Stephen, get some sleep,” Harry retorted quietly, half exasperated and half bemused. “I’ll wake you up if you have a nightmare.”

“Nightmares? I don’t-”

Harry started to hum, a low quiet thing that exuded safety and warmth. “You’re exhausted. Go back to sleep.”

 

* * *

  
  


“Crap.”

Tony glanced at Harry as they both looked at the hundreds of things that they were facing. The fleeing civilians around them were dropping like flies as each black cloaked… creature hovered over them. With the sun having gone down an hour or two ago, it made the creatures look like demented stars, black spots of hunger.

“Harry… what are we facing?”

Harry ran a tired hand through his hair and raised his hands, crackling, raw magic pooling at his fingertips. “Dementors. We need Strange. There’s too many for me to handle alone.”

“You were saying?”

Both Harry and Tony turned to see Stephen walk through a portal. 

“The fuck are those?” Stephen questioned, conjuring a weapon, a sword.

“Dementors,” Harry explained, looking up to where Rhodey was trying and failing to kill them. “They can’t be killed by normal means. Magic only and we need to get the rest of the civilians out of the way. Tony-”

“On it.”

Harry grinned and turned to Stephen, who was staring at the hundreds of dementors with wide eyes. The visible dementors who anyone could see and scream at.

Stephen stared at the approaching creatures, wishing that Mordo was here beside him in this fight. But the other man had apparently decided to take matters into his own hands in draining magic from other sorcerers. He and Wong had found another body, one that had been one of Wong’s friends. “How do we take them out? And where the hell are they from?”

“They’re from my world,” Harry muttered, drawing Stephen’s attention by grasping his hand. “Stephen, magic only.”

“Your world? You want to explain?”

“Later. Here. There’s a spell to corral and stop them,” Harry spoke quickly as Stephen flexed his fingers in Harry’s hand. Warmth jumped between them, followed by sparks… Their magic entwining and flaring around them. Stephen shuddered at the feel of the other man’s foreign magic, somehow knowing that it was familiar beyond just meeting the man. Memories just beyond his reach tickled his mind, memories tinged with this man’s magic. “Should work for you too. Speak the words,  _ Expecto Patronum.” _

Stephen banished the sword, blinking. “You sure it’ll work for me?”

“Of course. You are the Sorcerer Supreme, right?”

Stephen nodded, one eye on the… dementors and one on Harry. The other wizard was looking at him expectantly as Stephen spoke the words. Bright, white light flowed from his hands, forming a shield between them and the dementors. Power rushed through him, feeding the shield as it grew bigger and bigger, encompassing Harry and the rest of the fleeing civilians.

“That’s good. Great,” Harry whispered encouragingly. “Push the shield out with your mind. I’ll figure out where they’re coming from.  _ Don’t _ let them near you.”

Stephen nodded, watching as Harry seemingly took flight, his magic propelling him up and away. A big, white, translucent male deer took shape next to Harry in the air and Stephen watched as it charged towards one of the Dementors that was flying towards him. 

 

* * *

  
  


Harry directed Prongs with just a glance, watched as his patronus more or less herded the dementors back through the portal. The portal that someone or something had opened either on his end or their end. He frowned in thought as the last dementor floated through and the portal closed. 

“Harry, you okay?” Tony called out, flying over to hover in the air next to him. Harry could see Peter flying between buildings, making sure there were none left and that they had seen to each civilian that had fallen. Some of them would require immediate magical healing while others would not recover, their souls eaten. SHIELD would take over now, let him know if he was needed. Ever since Hong Kong and since the Avengers had split up, he had sensed something brewing. Something big. And Tony agreed.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Harry replied, wearily, after a minute. “You?”

“Had a close call.”

Harry narrowed his eyes, immediately turning to look at Tony Stark. The guy had his suit helmet down so Harry could see his pale skin and wide brown eyes. “What stopped the dementor?”

“Loki.”

“Ah, good. Go eat something chocolate then,” Harry recommended distractedly. “Anyone see where Stephen went?”

“Chocolate? Harry, you’re the one with the chocolate obsession.”

“It’s not an obsession. I have a sweet tooth,” Harry retorted, looking over the streets and retracing his steps. “Peter? See Strange?”

“Nope.”

“Damn it.”

“He fell,” T-Challa spoke through the comms.

Harry hurried down to the ground, landing right next to the king of Wakanda. The king was holding a little girl in his arms, even in the suit. The girl looked to be in shock, staring out at the street, where the dementors had been. Harry raised an eyebrow.

“She is missing her mother.”

“Oh. Did you see him get back up?”

“He did. It was quite incredible, what he can do. You should have seen it.”

Harry let out a heavy sigh then pulled his magic back in and took a deep breath, transforming his battle robes to a mere shirt and jeans. “I’ll go find him.”

“Harry?”

“Hmm?”

T’Challa raised an eyebrow but nodded. “When Strange fell, he had a symbol on his forehead, flickering white light. It rather looked like your sign.”

“My sign?” Harry questioned faintly, turning to look at the king.

“Your sign,” T’Challa confirmed. 

 

* * *

  
  


_ “Stephen? What now?” _

_ “Shh, I’m here.” _

_ “Shit. He sucked all the water out of you? Come here. I’ve got you.” _

 

_ “Shhhh.” _

_ “How many times is Dormammu going to make you do this?” _

 

_ “Burned you to death. Stuck knives in you. Tortured you. Stephen…” _

 

_ “Easy, Stephen. Easy, I’ve got you.” _

  
  


_ “This is how many times? Fuck. No, I’m not…. Not angry at you, Stephen. You’re okay.” _

 

* * *

 

“I had met you before,” Stephen remarked quietly, as he took another sip of the drink he had ordered. Harry blinked then joined Stephen at the bar, settling himself on the seat next to him. Stephen turned to look at the other wizard, noting the casual dress. Harry looked like just any business man out for a drink and not a man who was as mysterious as ever. “When I was… dead.”

Harry sighed and signaled the bartender for a drink. The bar was hopping already, being close to the battle and since it was drinking time… it was packed. People had been unnerved by the dementors and who wouldn’t be?

“Were those your worst memories?”

Stephen snorted and took another gulp of his drink. The bartender walked over and handed Harry his requested drink then walked off. “Yes. Why… I could hear myself…”

“T’Challa told me you fell,” Harry said, making a motion with his fingers. Stephen could feel Harry’s magic surround them, causing the other bar patrons to blur and lessen in sound. “Dementors are creatures of darkness. They feed on bad memories and in return they make you relive your worst memory.”

“And the soft balls of light that come out of the victim?” Stephen asked wearily.

“Souls,” Harry answered, taking a sip of his own drink and sighing. “The punishment for murder on my world for wizards and witches used to be getting your soul sucked out.”

Stephen sucked in a sharp breath, staring at Harry. “That’s barbaric!”

“It’s not anymore. Don’t worry. You okay?”

“Who are you really, Harry James Potter?” Stephen questioned, seeing Harry blink, his green eyes dropping a little then returning to Stephen’s eyes. “You were there, weren’t you?”

“Hela called me, yes.”

“Hela?”

Harry grinned a little. “Eh, she’s equal parts my employee and my goddaughter. My mischievous goddaughter who is goddess of the Norse underworld.”

Stephen’s eyes widened. “Isn’t she… Loki’s daughter?”

“Yeah, we have an arrangement since they aren’t allowed to see each other. She relays letters through me. She called me that day and I came, only to see you repeatedly dying.”

Stephen dipped his head in a nod, looking straight at Harry like he was trying not to think about that day. Though by the looks of it, the alcohol was not helping. By experience, Harry knew the memories stuck around for a few hours afterward and nothing helped. He knew that Stephen was not big on… feelings and admitting he had them but he shrugged and reached out a hand to cover Stephen’s. 

“Employee?”

“I have a job title, like you do,” Harry replied, drawing the elder wand out of his pocket. “Master of Death.”

Stephen blinked, peered at the stick of wood in Harry’s palm. “Is that a wand?”

Harry snorted, hearing the incredulousness in the other man’s voice. “Yeah, it’s a wand. Though it’s not just  _ a _ wand. It’s  _ The _ Wand. Called the Deathstick in some places and the Elder Wand in others.”

“Are you taking energy from the dark dimension? From Dormammu?” Stephen finally asked after a few minutes of silence. “Is that why you have so much power?”

Harry stared at him then shook his head. “Noooo. Why do you ask?”

“It’s partly why my former friend is going after wizards,” Stephen admitted.

“What.”

“Mordo, my friend and mentor, is going after wizards and witches,” Stephen explained quietly, standing up and getting ready to spell a portal into existence. Luckily, he didn’t need to drive home since he was already feeling dizzy and drunk. “He’s draining them of their power and in some cases, killing them. He’s calling himself Baron Mordo now.”

“Stephen-”

“I need to do this on my own, Harry. He is my responsibility.”

“Oh, fuck that.”

Stephen took a step and brought up his hand to cast a portal when Harry appeared right in front of him. Stephen watched as Harry reached out an arm to place it on his own chest and the other man was almost hesitant, like he had seen something in Stephen’s face to know to be slow.

“You need to slow down,” Harry remarked quietly. “Relax every once and awhile. The world won’t end if you’re not there to guard it for five minutes.”

Stephen raised an eyebrow.

“I have it on good authority that it won’t end, okay?” Harry spoke, his lips twitching up into a teasing grin. 

“How about thirty minutes?” Stephen finally replied, taking a step closer and feeling Harry’s hand on his chest stay still. 

Harry narrowed his eyes, looked Stephen over and then glanced around the room before returning his wide gaze to him. “You have a high opinion of yourself.”

Harry closed the distance between them and wrapped an arm around Stephen’s neck to tug him into a kiss.

  
  


* * *

 

 

Stephen woke up with a jolt only to be forced down back onto the bed by familiar power. He opened his eyes as he tried to move, seeing his former friend Karl Mordo standing by the foot of the bed. Mordo’s eyes were narrowed, as he stared down at Stephen and… 

“You keep strange friends,” Mordo remarked. “He stank of dark magic.”

Stephen’s eyes widened as he strained to look over at where Harry was lying. Flashes of last night flew through his mind, skin against skin and Harry spreading him open. His cock twitched and Mordo grimaced, before took a few steps closer towards him. Sparks of pain flared all over his body and a sucking feeling started to grow in his stomach, almost like his life energy was being absorbed by something and drained.

“You should start to feel my poison,” Mordo whispered, looking him over like he was a scientist studying his subject. “Coupled with your power, I will have enough to stop any sorcerer from training or growing too powerful.”

Stephen flinched as black spots moved into his vision. He was helpless and he still didn’t know what had happened to Harry, the man who had gotten under his skin easily enough.

Mordo seemed to know what he was thinking and shrugged. “He’s dead. I wanted your power and he was in the way.”

A roaring sound grew in his ears as Mordo grinned. Stephen could barely move, could barely even shrug, as his eyes grew too heavy and his body felt like an elephant had walked over it. Even as he was dying, pain flaring all over his body, a light shone over him. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw it above him and knew instinctively that it had something to do with Harry.

“What? What is that?”

“It’s my symbol.”

Stephen would have jumped at Harry’s voice, had he been mobile and not tied down to the bed with magic. He heard the rustling of wings and watched as Harry appeared in his range of vision. The power flickered, the lights in the mansion going out before coming back on. Stephen could see a rough outline of black wings stretching out from Harry’s back and he watched as the other man was immediately garbed in a kind of armor that looked like it had been made from scales.

“I… You were dead!” Mordo exclaimed.

Harry dipped his head in a nod and reached out with his magic to cut into the magic holding Stephen down. Once released, Stephen staggered upright, trying to conjure a weapon and failing. Mordo was still draining his magic through some dark ritual and he could feel his heartbeat slowing as he struggled to draw breath.

“Release him,” Harry spoke, deadly quiet. 

“What are you?” Mordo questioned, conjuring a sword in his hands.

“I am the Master of Death. Now, release my friend.”

Stephen’s eyes widened as a sword appeared in Harry’s right hand.

Mordo charged, sword raised and metal met metal in a loud clanging noise. That was the last thing that Stephen saw as his vision dimmed, the light above him growing as he took several shallow breaths…

 

* * *

  
  


Harry sighed as he watched as Mordo open a portal and escape. Gryffindor’s sword practically hummed in his hand, so in tune with him that it would come when he called. He lowered it to his side and turned around, to tend to Stephen. His heart stopped for a few seconds at seeing Stephen so… still, so quiet. As T’Challa had said, Harry’s own symbol was glowing a bright white on Stephen’s forehead. He would have to ask Hela or Death about that but he had his suspicions about what it meant.

Harry quickly banished the sword to his rooms in Avengers Tower and gently scooped Stephen up, casting a feather light charm on him. Stephen’s magical cloak sped over towards him, having been immobilized by Mordo, and wrapped itself around the unconscious Sorcerer Supreme. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


“...Bruce? Anything?”

“I’m afraid not, Harry. I’ve never seen anything like that. Good thing you had your kit with you.”

Stephen blinked and focused on what his senses were telling him as he woke up, curling his fingers and toes as he moved. 

“I’m just worried that Mordo will be able to crossover to my world. I don’t want him going there.”

“You said you were the only one who could do that.”

Stephen sighed and finally fully opened his eyes, seeing Harry’s concerned face above him. “Is the sanctum safe?”

Harry raised an eyebrow but nodded. “Loki’s keeping an eye on it. Don’t worry. You gave us quite the scare.”

“Gave Brucie here a bigger scare,” Tony said, as he came into the room. Stephen realized that he was in Avengers Tower, where the Avengers used to live before splitting up. “What did I say about having a team?”

“You said I should join your team,” Stephen retorted. “I still don’t want to join your team, Stark. What did Mordo drug me with?”

“It was something… It had both magic and poison in it,” Harry explained, his hands dropping down to cover Stephen’s, stopping him from getting up. “I’ve never seen it before but Jarvis is working on finding where it came from. Luckily, I had one last cure all with me from my last trip across.”

Harry peered at him as Stephen studied him, looking to his lightning bolt scar to his green eyes and wild black hair. 

“Thank you,” Stephen finally spoke.

Harry grinned and stepped closer to the bed that Stephen was on. “You’re very stubborn, you know that?”

“The best sorcerers are.”

Harry stared at him then let out a laugh, his green eyes lighting up with amusement. “Pleasure working with you, Doctor Stephen Strange.”

“Pleasure working with you, Mr Potter.”

Stephen slowly swung his legs off of the bed, aiming to get off and do some stretches. 

“You are still healing,” Harry grumbled, reaching out a hand to nudge Stephen back onto the bed. “Don’t make me come sit on you.”

Stephen grinned and started to move again only for Harry to move onto the bed and sit on his lap. Hands came up to cradle his face and he blinked, staring into Harry’s eyes.

“You were barely alive three hours ago,” Harry muttered. “You weren’t breathing. Stay put.”

Lips touched his own and he moaned into the kiss, the touch reminding him of their activities last night. One of Harry’s arms wrapped around him and pulled him closer as heat sparked within his stomach.

“What do you mean I wasn’t breathing? That means I was dead.”

Harry snorted and pulled back, only leaving one hand on the nape of his neck. Stephen was distantly aware that both Tony and Bruce had moved away, probably to give them privacy. 

“That light above you early this morning? That was my symbol,” Harry explained softly. 

“Your symbol?”

“Death inadvertently claimed you when you were in between life and death,” Harry offered. 

Stephen’s eyes widened as his awareness dimmed to Harry’s hand on his neck, anchoring him. “Do you mean… what I think you mean?”

Harry nodded, dropping a kiss on his forehead. “Yes. You’re immortal.”

“Are you… immortal?”

“Yes.”

Stephen looked down at the floor then swung off the table on the other side. He walked over to the floor to ceiling windows of the tower and heard Harry come up to his other side, entwine their hands.

“You want to go out to dinner with me tonight?”

“Are you asking me out?” Stephen questioned.

“You could meet my family, my friends,” Harry spoke. “Meet Hela, among others.”

“Alright.... I get to see another Earth, don’t I?”

Harry nodded, a playful smile on his face. “Yes. You do.”

“Excellent.”


End file.
